Improvement in life-boats



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G. JUDSON.

LIFE-BOAT. Patnte d Feb. 22, 1876 l is; Mm w y R 4 0, f. 1 p .l 1 3 A,

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Pate nted Feb. 22,1876

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UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE JUDSON, OFOLEVELAND, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN LIFE-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 173,966, dated February 2-2, 1876; application filed Febrnary14, 1876.

Toall whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEoReEJUDsoN, of Cleveland, in the county ofGuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Life Boats or Pre servers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and complete description'of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specifi'cation, in which- Figure 1 isa side view of the life-preserver. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section. Figs. 3 and 5 are detached sections, Fig. 4 is a transverse section.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several views presented. 7

This invention is a life-boat or preserver for marine uses, the construction of which is substantially as follows:

The body of the life-preserver consists of a barrel-shaped vessel, A, or'a modification of the same, and which may be constructed of wood,or of other suitable material, and made watertight by any suitable means. B are seats arranged along each side of the inside of the vessel, as shown in the drawings. The seats consist of compartments, in one or more of which is fitted a vessel or tank, 0, Fig. 4, for holding water. A detached view of one of said water-tanks is shown in Fig. 5, the triangular shape of which is such as to adapt it to a compartment. Each compartment is provided with a cover, D, whereby access is had to the inside. The compartments not provided with water-tanks are used for provision, &c. E is a hatchway for admission to the inside of the life-preserver, and which is covered by a cap, F, fitted thereto, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.. Light is admitted to the inside through windows G, one in each end of the vessel. H are ventilators inserted in the top of the vessel. Said ventilators consist of a tube, a, screwed into the side of the vessel, down over the end of which is screwed a cap, I), much larger in diameter than the tube, but which is made to fit the tube by a .fiange, c, on which is cut a thread, whereby it is screwed into the cap, as will be seen in Fig. 2. It will be observed that the tube, when the cap is screwed on, does not reach the crown of the cap, but that there is a space above it and also around the tube, below the flange, for the admission of air from the outside into the upper end of the tube, thence downward through the tube a, into the vessel. H is a force-pump for discharging water from the life-preserverin the event it may leak. The construction of the pump is likethose in ordinary use, or may be; hence no detailed description thereof will here be made. I is a rod, extending lengthwise through the vessel, and having its ends fastened in the heads thereof, the purpose of which will presently be shown. On each end of the vessel is a seat, J, Fig. 1. Said seat is attached to the vessel by a hinge, so that it can be turned up against it, as shown in Fig. 2, to be out of the way when not in use, and which is secured against the end of the vessel by a button, 0.

Many persons lose their lives, while escaping from a wreck or sinking vessel, in consequence of the capsizin g of the boats in which they sought to escape, or by swamping by overloading, and sometimes by the boats being dashed against the side of the ship. Others lose their lives by exposure to the wind, cold, and wet, as the boats drifthelplessly about on the waters. i

To avoid the loss of life by these several accidents incidental to ordinary boats, and to provide a safe and eflicient means for the preservation of life under such circumstances above instanced, is the purpose of the invention, and which is substituted for boats as a life preserving means.

To this end the above-described life-preservcrs or boats are taken on board a ship and stowed away in places as would be ordinary boats. In the event they are called intoactive service, they are brought into order, and people placed in them through the hatchway E, as many as the seats will accommodate, or as many as may be expedient, who, while seated, grasp the rod or bar 1, whereby to steady themselves while seated. Under the seats may be stowed provisions, 850., and the tanks 0 filled with water. The lifepreserver, on being thus loaded, the hatchway is closed, air for breathing is received through the ventilators, and light is obtained through the windows G referred to. The life-preservers, on being thus loaded,

are allowed to float away from the ship if it is sinking, or they can be cast off as an ordinary boat into the water, which, in consequence of their buoyancy, will float lightly thereon and right-side up, it being scarcely possiblet'or them to oapsize or roll over. Their peculiar shape, and the ballast they contain,

together with the load, will keep them from rolling, though tossed wildly by the waves.

It will be obvious that, while in the above life-preserver, the people are protected from wind, rain, cold, and the waves, as none can find its-way in through the tightstructure; nor

can they suffer from cold, as the bodies of the steps K are to assist in getting into the preserver or therefrom, as the case may be.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the life-boat A, the ventilatory H, consisting of the tube a, perforated screw-cap b, flange 0, and perforations, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The seat J, attached to ends of lifeboat by hinges, and provided with buttons, 0, substantially as described 3. The vessel or body A, of the life-pro server, provided with the seats B, consisting of compartments and water-tank O, the

supporting rod or bar I, ventilators H, and seats J, in the manner as described, and for the purpose set forth.

GEO. JUDSON. Witnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, E. W. Onoss. 

